Rick Wakeman
Richard Christopher Wakeman CBE (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist and composer best known as a member of the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his prolific solo career. AllMusic describes Wakeman as a "classically trained keyboardist extraordinaire who plied his trade with Yes and developed his own brand of live spectacular in a solo act."[1]
Not to be confused with Ric Wake.
Rick Wakeman
- Keyboardist
- songwriter
- producer
- television and radio presenter
- author
1969–present
- Progressive rock
- classical
- ambient
- new-age
- Christian
- instrumental rock
- Keyboards
- A&M
- Charisma
- Moon
- Griffin
- President
- Coda
- Stylus
- Ambient
- Asaph
- Hope
- Music Fusion
- Castle Communications
- Pinnacle
- RPM
- EMI
- Voiceprint
- Legends
- Classic Pictures
- Eagle
- Gonzo
- Universal Music Group
- Sony Classical
- R&D
- Madfish
Born and raised in West London, Wakeman quit his studies at the Royal College of Music in 1969 to become a full-time session musician. His early sessions included "Space Oddity", among other tracks, for David Bowie, and songs by Elton John, Marc Bolan, Cat Stevens, and Lou Reed. In 1970, Wakeman joined the folk rock group the Strawbs, during which his virtuosity gained national press coverage. He left in 1971 to join Yes, with whom he played on some of their most influential albums across two stints until 1980. During this time Wakeman began a solo career in 1973 and became an iconic and prominent figure in progressive rock. His highest-selling and most acclaimed albums are his first three: The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1973), the UK number-one Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1974), and The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (1975), all concept albums. In 1974, he formed his band the English Rock Ensemble, with which he toured worldwide and continues to perform, and went on to score his first major film, Lisztomania (1975).
Wakeman had uneven success in the next two decades following a change in musical fashion and financial issues from two divorces. His most popular album was the conceptual rocker 1984 (1981), which was followed by the minor pop hit single "Glory Boys" from Silent Nights (1985). He expanded into other areas such as hosting the television show Gastank, composing for television and film, forming record labels, and producing his first new-age, ambient, and Christian music with Country Airs (1986) and The Gospels (1987), respectively. In 1989, he reunited with former Yes bandmates for Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, which led to his third period in the group until 1992. Wakeman's most significant album of the 1990s was Return to the Centre of the Earth (1999), his first UK top 40 album in 18 years, and his piano album Piano Portraits (2017) produced his first UK top 10 album since 1975. Starting in 2009, Wakeman revisited his three hit albums of the 1970s by performing them live with new and expanded arrangements. From 2016 to 2020, Wakeman was a member of Yes Featuring Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin, Rick Wakeman. He continues to record albums and perform concerts worldwide in various capacities; his most recent album is A Gallery of the Imagination (2023).
Wakeman's discography includes over 90 solo albums[2] spanning a range of musical styles. He has also gained notoriety for his appearances on the television programs Live at Jongleurs, Countdown, Grumpy Old Men, and Watchdog, and for his radio show on Planet Rock that aired from 2005 to 2010. Wakeman has written an autobiography and two memoirs. In 2017, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Yes.[3] He was awarded a CBE for his services to music and broadcasting in 2021.
Recognition and influence[edit]
In his foreword for Wakeman's 1979 biography, Elton John named The Six Wives of Henry VIII as one of his favourite albums. He noted Wakeman's "brilliant" technique and wrote that his "mastery of electronic instruments only adds to his abilities".[168] In 2011, MusicRadar included Wakeman among "The 27 greatest keyboard players of all time".[169] In 2019, readers of Prog voted him the second greatest progressive rock keyboard player, with the magazine stating, "Wakeman's time with Yes helped define prog as we know it, being filled with timeless brilliance [...] The man's style is fluent, and underlines a love of many genres, all cohesively brought into focus."[170]
Keyboardists who have cited Wakeman as an influence included Dave Greenfield of the Stranglers[171] and Mark Kelly of Marillion, who cited Wakeman as his primary influence.[172]
Personal life[edit]
Family[edit]
Wakeman has been married four times and has six children. At the age of 20, he married Rosaline Woolford on 28 March 1970[5] and had two sons, Oliver (b. 26 February 1972) and Adam (b. 11 March 1974). They divorced in 1977.[173] Wakeman then married Swiss-born Danielle Corminboeuf, a recording studio secretary, in January 1980 in the West Indies and lived with her in Montreux.[174][173] They had one son, Benjamin (b. 1978), before they divorced in late 1980.[175][173] In 1981, Wakeman met former Page 3 model Nina Carter and had a daughter, Jemma Kiera (b. 1983),[176] before they married in November 1984 and had a son, Oscar (b. 1986).[116][173] The couple separated in 2000[173] and divorced in 2004.[177]
In 2004, Wakeman revealed that he had had an extramarital affair with American-born designer Denise Gandrup, who first met Wakeman in 1972 and made several of his capes.[178] After they split in 1981, they reconnected in 1985 and had one daughter, Amanda (b. 1986). Wakeman felt it best to keep the relationship and child secret to protect his family, but continued to financially support his daughter.[173]
In December 2011, Wakeman married journalist Rachel Kaufman.[91][177]
Health[edit]
Wakeman has faced a number of health issues. In his twenties he suffered three heart attacks due to his unhealthy lifestyle of smoking and heavy drinking.[92] The first two were minor and he was told they may have gone unnoticed. The third occurred soon after a performance of Journey to the Centre of the Earth at Crystal Palace Park in July 1974.[179] Wakeman stopped smoking in 1979.[91]
In September 1984, Wakeman was fined £155 and banned from driving for one year for speeding and being over the drink drive limit.[180] In 1985, Wakeman's drinking led to cirrhosis of the liver and alcoholic hepatitis, and he has been teetotal since.[91][136] In 1998, Wakeman collapsed on a golf course and was rushed to hospital, where he was diagnosed with double pneumonia, pleurisy, and showed signs of Legionnaire's disease. He was placed in an induced coma,[181] and at one point his doctors gave him 24 hours to live.[136] Wakeman has had a vasectomy.[182]
In 2016 Wakeman announced he had type-2 diabetes. In 2023 he said his performing was affected by macular degeneration in his left eye and arthritis in his hands and feet.[183][184] Wakeman has never used drugs, and believes that had he taken them he would have done so to excess and died.[185]
Other activities[edit]
In the 1970s, Wakeman met Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and bought Tropical Saint, a racehorse that belonged to her.[6][186] After it died, he bought Balinloning, a small horse that he had in care for a year and entered in races.[187] In 1979, he became a director of Brentford F.C., a post which he held for a year. In 1983, he became chairman of Camberley Town F.C.;[7] he quit in 1987 due to his busy work schedule, but remained active as an honorary vice-president.[188] In 2009, he became a patron of Tech Music Schools.
He had a renewal of his Christian faith which began at around the time of his 1984 marriage to Carter.[189]
In the 1990s, Wakeman bought a house by Playa de la Vistas in Tenerife.[190]
In 1993 Wakeman was invited to play the piano at the inauguration of US President Bill Clinton. He declined due to unavailability.[191]
Wakeman was one of the board of directors of the Performing Artists' Media Rights Association (PAMRA), a non-profit organisation committed to promoting musicians' rights and income.[192]
In September 2005 Wakeman began a weekly three-hour radio show on Planet Rock called Rick's Place, broadcasting Saturday mornings.[193] The show ended in December 2010.
In late 2020, Wakeman launched Rick's Plaice, a subscription-based video series based on the format of his former Planet Rock show.[194]
In 2007 Wakeman became a Freemason, joining the Chelsea Lodge No. 3098 which is made up of entertainers.[195] His father was a member of the Brent Valley Lodge No. 3940, and the support that Wakeman and his mother received from his friends at the Lodge following his death was a catalyst for Wakeman to learn more about Freemasonry. In 2019, Wakeman was elected as an honorary member of his late father's Lodge.[196] In 2011, Wakeman joined the Knights Templar fraternity,[197] and is also a member of the Vaudeville Lodge.[198] In 2014 he was installed as the 110th Worshipful Master of the Chelsea Lodge. He was and elected as the 125th King Rat in the showbusiness fraternity and charity organisation, the Grand Order of Water Rats. Wakeman was the first person to hold both titles.[199][200][91][198] He hosted the Grumpy Old Rockstar's Chelsea Lodge Ladies Festival in the following year.[201] Wakeman appears in his Masonic apron in the 2017 documentary series Inside the Freemasons.[202]
Wakeman is an honorary president of the Classic Rock Society, formed in Rotherham in 1991.[203] In 1988 he was elected into the Lord's Taverners cricket charity, and was chairman of the Isle of Man branch with his wife in the early 1990s.[111][120] In October 1997, Wakeman received a Golden Badge Award from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA), given for outstanding contributions to the British music and entertainment industry.[204] In 2008, Wakeman gave a class to students of the London College of Music and later that year, received an honorary professorship from the college for his contributions to music.[205] In 2012, Wakeman received an honorary fellowship of the Royal College of Music in a ceremony presented by HRH The Prince of Wales, the college's president.[206] In 2022, he received the Musicians' Company Honorary Fellowship at the Royal College.[207] Wakeman was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2021 Birthday Honours for services to music and broadcasting.[208]
In a 2010 interview, he was critical of Wikipedia, saying it has too many inaccuracies and mistakes, and that he would love to see it "closed down".[27]
Wakeman has appeared numerous times on the BBC show Have I Got News for You, including an episode with ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson as host. In June 2017 he was the castaway for the BBC Radio 4 programme Desert Island Discs. His favourite piece was Giuseppe Verdi's Anvil Chorus and his book choice was Principles of Orchestration by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.[209]
Wakeman's agent for TV and media work is entertainer Roger De Courcey, best known for performing with his puppet Nookie Bear.[210]
He is a supporter of the Conservative Party, saying he was "unique in [Yes] as a card-carrying Conservative".[211]
Books
Songbooks[212]
Sources